Display rack



Sept' 2, 1941`- G. R. EATQN 2,254,646

DISYPLAY RACK l Filed'lFeb. 17, 1940 I I 2f? s 1 illli; n? Il HHTH'III ml!- 'M' IHIl l' I .HHM lll INVENTOR ATTORNEY Patented Sept. 2, 1941 .entre DISPLAY neon.; ,p George R. Eaton, f Application February 17, 1940, Serial No. 319,459

(Cl. .2H-13) 1 Claim.

This invention relates to display racks for use in connection with the sale of belts, neckties and Suspenders and has reference more particularly to the construction of the supporting arms.

In stores where the articles above mentioned are for sale, it is customary to support them on display racks having radially extending arms.

It is an object of this invention to produce a supporting arm for use in display racks which shall be of a simple construction and which shall be provided with integrally formed hooks l'or supporting the merchandise.

The arms to which this invention relates, briefly described, are formed from a long strip of sheet metal that is reversely bent intermediate its ends and formed into a cylindrical opening at the reverse bend for the reception of a pivot pin. The two halves of the strip, on opposite sides of the reverse bend, are attached so as -to form an arm having a thickness of twice the thickness of y the material used. Before the strips are bent, they are subjected to an operation by means of which tongues are out from the material and offset so as to form hooks on which the merchandise can be supported.

Having thus briefly described the invention and its objects, the invention will now be described in detail, and for this purpose reference will be had to the accompanying drawing in which the invention has been illustrated, and in which:

Figure 1 is a view partly in elevation and partly in section showing a display rack provided with the arms that form the subject of this invention; v

Figure 2 is a top plan view of the display rack shown in Figure l, the arms having been illustrated more or less diagrammatically;

Figure 3 is a section similar to that shown in Figure l, and taken on line 3--3, Figure 2, and shows one of the supporting arms to substantially full size; and

Figure 4 is a section taken on ure 3.

In the drawing reference numeral 'I designates a base which may be made from cast iron or other heavy metal and which is provided at its top with a tubular hub 8 in which the lower end of a supporting rod 9 is positioned. A set screw I0 serves to hold the rod in the hub.

Referring now more particularly to Figure 3, it will be observed Ithat the upper end of rod 9 is provided with a shoulder II above which is a threaded end portion I2. A cap nut I3 cooperates with the line 4-4, Fighold a circular metal disk It in place. Owing to the short cylindrical section I5 above the shoulder I I, the disk hl is freely rotatable on the rod. Another disk Ilia, is positioned below disk threaded portion and serves to 55 I4 and has a central opening large enough to receive the rod 9. Attached to the two disks Ill and Ida are a plurality of supporting arms that have been designated by reference numeral i6. In the embodiment shown, each arm is made from a single strip of metal which has been reversely bent at its middle point and the bend has been formed into a cylindrical portion like that indicated by reference numeral II in which is a cylindrical opening I8 for the reception of a pivot pin I9. The two parts of the arm or arms on opposite sides of the reverse bend are placed into actual contact with each other and secured together by spot welding, or by other means, such as small rivets 2B. The strips of metal forming the arms are subjected to a punching operation before they are bent and by this operation tongues 2| are punched from the metal and bent outwardly and upwardly in the manner indicated' in Figure 4. These tongues are arranged in pairs and each arm is preferably provided with six pairs of spaced tongues. In Figure 3, a belt buckle 22 has been indicated by a b-roken line and shows how a belt can `be conveniently suspended from the hooks formed by the tongues 2 I When belts or Suspenders are to be supported the hooks 2| are preferably arranged transversely of the strip and opened towards the top, as this is the most convenient way of supporting such articles.

In Figure 2 one of the arms has been displaced as indicated by dotted lines, and it is possible to move any of the arms about its pivot i9 to either side of a diameter and in this way any article can be put into a position in which it can be readily inspected.

Particular attention is called to the construction of the arms as this is the feature that forms the gist of the present invention. As above eX- plained, each arm is formed from a single strip of metal ben-t double and provided at the bend with an opening for the reception of a pivot. The tongues 2| are stamped from the metal itself and offset in the manner shown in Figure 4. Due to the fact that the hooks canbe cut from the metal by means' of a die and bent into the desired shape by the same die, such arms can be manufactured at a comparatively small cost. The two halves of the arm may be interconnected by rivets, soldered or spot welded.

Attention is directed in particular to the fact that each pair of hooks 2l (Figure 3) is intended to support a single belt or other article and therefore each article can be removed and replaced without disturbing the other articles on the arm. If, for example, the belt buckles are threaded onto a long supporting arm, i-t is necessary to remove all of the belts from the end in- Wardly to the one desired and to replace them all in order to remove a single belt. With the arm shown and claimed herein, each belt or other article is independently removable and replaceable. v

Having described the invention what is claimed as new is:

An arm for use with a display rack, comprising a strip of metal having a reverse bend at its center, the bent portion being provided with bearing means for the reception of a pivot pin, the two parts on opposite sides of the center being straight and positioned with adjacent sides in contact, and means for attaching the two parts together to prevent spreading, each of the two parts having a plurality of spaced pairs of tongues extending transversely, the tongues being attached at their lower ends to the strip, that portion adjacent the point of attachment extending outwardly for some distance, the remaining portions of the tongues extending upwardly substantially parallel with the surface of the strip, the two tongues of each pair being spaced apart to receive the tongue of a belt buckle, the pairs being spaced apart a greater distance than the tongues of each pair.

GEORGE R. EATON. 

